Republicans choosing to distance themselves from Donald Trump ahead of the midterm elections was somewhat inevitable, given how historically unpopular the president is.

But the examples are piling up, and it's notably happening in some pretty red territory.

Many of those running away from the president and policies like the Iran war are campaigning in territory that favored Trump by substantial margins — including by double digits in some areas.

The Iran war defections over the past week have been particularly notable.

Three of the big ones have come from one relatively small state: Iowa. Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks joined in a vote to limit Trump's war powers last week. And on Monday, their colleague Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is the GOP nominee for Senate, posted on X that "the war needs to be brought to a successful and immediate end."

"I'll never trust Ken Paxton, I'll never support Ken Paxton and the last place he should be is the United States Senate,"?former state Rep. Glenn Rogers says in a new 30-second ad for the pro-Talarico Lone Star Rising PAC.

From the outskirts of San Antonio, through historic, sprawling ranchlands to the border city of McAllen, Reuters traveled more than 360 miles (580 km) and ?spoke to more than 30 Latino voters, who shared a similar refrain: as President, Trump had a chance to lower prices across this expanse, where trucks and beef barbacoa are king, and failed.

Many are no longer convinced the Republican Party is looking out for people like ?them. Frustration over economic pressures and Trump's immigration agenda is rising, exposing cracks in what Republican officials hoped was a durable political realignment among Latino Americans. Trump's approval rating nationwide has fallen to 32%, the lowest since returning to office, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll.

That uncertainty poses a problem for Texas Republicans, who redrew congressional maps last year betting the Latino ?contingent who helped power Trump's 2024 win would remain in their column.

Now, they're grappling with whether this notoriously swingy voting group may snap back to Democrats in the Lone Star State as they have in other parts of the country in off-year and special elections, said David Wasserman, elections analyst at the nonpartisan forecaster Cook Political Report.

A new survey found that a majority of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track and that more Americans would vote for a Democratic candidate over a Republican candidate in the 2026 midterm elections.

The survey, commissioned by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) Action and American Policy Ventures and conducted by Cygnal and Impact Research, was conducted among 1,500 likely 2026 general election voters between Sept. 1-2. It found that 60.5 percent of respondents believe that the country is mostly or definitely on the wrong track.

By contrast, only 36.2 percent of those surveyed believe the country is headed mostly or definitely in the right direction, and 3.3 percent of respondents were unsure.

The poll also found that 50.7 percent of respondents said they would probably or definitely vote for a Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress if the election were held today, compared with 42.1 percent who said they would probably or definitely vote for a Republican candidate. Another 7.2 percent were undecided.